As we close our blog series on prayer this week, I want to cover a discipline that is closely related to prayer. It is one that is not always widely talked about but Scripture mentions many times in cooperation with the exercise of prayer. It is a discipline we must learn how to use for the purpose of denying ourselves and seeking the will of God. Fasting. 

Fasting is the act of denying something for the sake of finding satisfaction and fulfillment from the Lord. When we think of fasting we normally consider the giving up of food for a period of time. This is the most common form of fasting and we see this take place in Scripture. 

Fasting is a way of positioning our bodies  and our lives before the Lord in humility. The discipline of fasting teaches our hearts humility, sacrifice and dependence on God for all things.

Joel 2:12-13, “Even now—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

turn to me with all your heart,

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

13 Tear your hearts,

not just your clothes,

and return to the Lord your God.

For he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,

and he relents from sending disaster.”

There are several reasons for fasting. Here in Joel we see a call to fast as a way of mourning over sin. We can fast for wisdom from the Lord on the matter of a big decision. Before my wife and I were married – really, before we got engaged – I fasted for several days over the matter of our marriage. Instead of eating during mealtimes, I would get alone and go to the Word of God and pray over this life altering decision. I wanted to begin our marriage seeking the Lord. Later, when we were deciding whether or not to uproot our lives to go to a new state with no job prospects and plenty of financial responsibilities, we fasted for a time to seek the Lord and His favor.

 Esther fasted before going to see the king. Even the disobedient King Ahab fasted when he was confronted over his sin. Jesus Himself fasted. 

Matthew 4:1-4, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.””

Jesus understood that in fasting we seek the Lord for sustenance, not from food. And He sustains us. In the times that I have fasted, I have learned so much from the Lord. I have grown in those times and my faith was strengthened. 

Fasting can be done alone in your personal walk or it can be done with a body of believers. But fasting is not about being able to say you fasted as if you have leveled up in some spiritual game. The Lord takes fasting seriously and we should too. 

Matthew 6:16-18, ““Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Fasting is all about sacrifice. Giving up something for the sake of receiving more of the Lord. More of his wisdom. More of his provision. More of His power. Less of our vices. Less of our wants and desires. Less of ourselves. 

Some are not able to fast from food due to health concerns, but that does not mean that you cannot fast. You can fast from all sorts of things. Think of all the things that are given up during Lent. It should be something that would be painful or uncomfortable for you to give up. Sometimes it is food. But it could be television or social media or a host of other things. 

But what does fasting have to do with prayer? Why do we see these two disciplines in conjunction with one another?

Remember our formula for powerful prayers. Humility + Faith + Intimacy with the Father = Powerful Prayers. 

Fasting humbles ourselves before God. Fasting shows that you put the Lord before yourself and your needs and desires. Fasting is an act of great faith. It says God only you can sustain me. You are the true source of my provision. You are the true source of my salvation. I cannot rely on myself for this. I have to trust You. 

And in times of fasting, we are urged or even forced to spend more time in prayer with the Father. That is really the greatest outcome we could achieve from times of fasting – greater intimacy with our Heavenly Father. 

If you have not fasted during your Christian walk, maybe you should consider if the Lord would have you surrender to Him during a time of fasting. Fasting is all about sacrifice. 

Maybe you aren’t being led to fast this week, but you are being called to sacrifice something. Sacrifice your comfort or your convenience for the sake of serving others. Sacrifice your free time for the sake of spending more time with Him or other believers. Intimacy with Him is the goal, so what are you willing to give up to get that? 

Pray and ask the Lord what he would have you sacrifice. 

As I close this series on prayer, consider what the Lord is calling you to do in your prayer life. 

Maybe He’s calling you to sing praises to Him just as the Israelites lifted a prayer in song form on the banks of the Red Sea. Maybe He’s calling you to pray the deep longings of your heart like Hannah and trust that He hears and answers. Maybe He’s calling you to repent from sin like David and pray in a spirit of brokenness before Him. Maybe He’s calling you to pray for wisdom like Solomon on behalf of others around you. Maybe He’s calling you to lean on Him more in times of crisis and trial and reminding you that prayer is an all the time thing, not just a hotline or last resort. Maybe He’s calling you to intercede on behalf of another the Nehemiah prayed for Jerusalem. 

Remember, you can ask. You can seek. You can knock. And when you ask, seek and knock know that the God you pray to can be trusted. He hears. He sees. He answers. 

As I said at the beginning of this series, when we pray with humility, when we pray in faith, when we pray knowing the heart of the Father, mountains will move. Our prayers will be answered. 

It is my hope that we become believers that pray powerful prayers. That your church sanctuary is filled with the heartfelt prayers of the saints as well as your own private prayer closets. We are all testimonies of answered prayers in some way. May God hear his people this week. May we call on him in humility and in great faith, knowing that He will hear and he will answer.

You are capable of praying powerful prayers. The only thing stopping you is yourself. So get out of your own way and pray.